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Chapter 35 - Alan Veritas, Arena of Elicoras, Narrative

The bell above the store's door jingled when I entered.

Carlotta turned toward me.

She almost jumped when she saw me, clearly startled.

I glanced around the shop for a moment. It was small, quiet, and oddly clean for being inside a Cursed Spirit's domain.

Carlotta hesitated before walking over.

"Hello," she said carefully.

"Yes?" I turned to face her.

"Do you know where we are?" she asked, her voice unsteady.

"I do," I said. "We're inside a Cursed Spirit's domain."

"…!" Carlotta's face brightened. But then she quickly hid it, and asked, "Cursed Spirit? What is that? Aren't we in some kind of test being done by that alien race?"

Carlotta was currently searching for her little brother who had been kidnapped by an Exorcist.

She had been searching for him all this while.

Since she entered a Cursed Spirit's domain, she must be happy that she could now meet with Exorcists and find news about her brother.

To her, this was her chance to make connections to Exorcist world, and find the Exorcist who took away her little brother.

'Crazy girl. She entered a Cursed Spirit's domain just to get close to any random Exorcist.'

"You're a civilian, right? Let's talk outside," I said.

She was about to respond when the "shopkeeper" behind the counter spoke.

"Dear customer, will you not be buying anything?"

I looked at 'him'.

"No, we don't have any money yet."

"I see," he said, bowing slightly. "We wish you luck."

Carlotta and I stepped out of the store.

Outside, I turned to her.

"You seem like a civilian who knows about Cursed Spirits."

Carlotta stiffened, nervous now.

That was normal.

Any civilian who knew about Cursed Spirits or Exorcists risked having their memories erased by the Exorcist Union.

She was probably afraid I'd erase hers, and she would forget she was searching for her brother.

I tapped my mask lightly.

"See this? I'm like you. Well, kind of."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I'm an Illegal Exorcist," I said.

"…!" Her eyes widened. "What?"

Illegal Exorcists were not registered under the Exorcist Union.

They were treated as criminals, and were meant to be executed immediately.

"Who are you? Why are you telling me this?" she asked, suspicious.

"I'm Alan Veritus. I came into this Cursed Spirit's domain specifically to find you."

Carlotta froze, her hand tightening at her side.

She took a small step back, ready to run.

"Carlotta Garcia. Twin sister of Henry Garcia. Your brother was abducted a few months ago. You believe an Exorcist took him."

Her eyes widened again.

Surpassingly, her face could keep changing to show she was more and more shocked.

"…How do you know all that?"

"As I said, I came here for you. I did my research."

I reached into my inventory rune and pulled out a dagger.

Carlotta tensed immediately, but I ignored her reaction.

I crouched and started drawing on the ground with the dagger's tip.

"I'm here to help you. But first, you need to become an Exorcist."

I finished the drawing and stood up.

"This is a breathing technique. Learn it, and when you return to the real world, practice it. When you can use it properly, I'll come find you, and help you become an Exorcist."

"Why?" Carlotta asked. "You don't even know me. Why are you helping?"

Clearly, I was making no sense to her.

But knowing how desperate she was to find her brother, I knew she would accept my help even if I was suspicious.

"You have talent, Carlotta Garcia. I want you to use it for me. I'll help you find your brother, and in return, I want your help later."

The truth was, I didn't know where her brother was.

She never found him in her last life.

But I was confident I could find him in a few months.

"Why should I trust you?" Carlotta asked quietly. Her voice was calm, but I could tell she was still cautious.

"I came into the Cursed Spirit Domain to find you. I know who you are, and I'm not erasing your memory like the Exorcist Union rules say I should. If I wanted to harm you, I would've done it already."

Her eyes shook a little.

She looked like she didn't know what to believe.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to ease her into the truth. I had to say everything directly.

"You can believe me, or you can keep searching for your brother on your own."

I turned away and glanced at the convenience store nearby.

Its lights flickered faintly, almost like they could vanish any second.

I had to keep looking at it, or it would actually disappear. There was an item that I needed to check before the store vanished.

"So…" Carlotta looked at me, then at the drawings on the ground. "I learn these drawings, leave this domain, become an exorcist, and you'll come to find me?"

"Yes."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I'll believe you for now."

Not like she had much choice.

"How do I leave this place after I've learned it?" she asked.

"By doing what that person told you earlier. Dying in the test."

"Huh? But…"

She hesitated.

"He was telling the truth," I said before she could finish. "Anyone who dies in this Cursed Spirit's domain is sent back to the real world. We're not really here. Our bodies are still out there. Only our minds are trapped in this space."

"So the alien was right?"

"Yes. And it's not an alien. The Cursed Spirit just makes it seem that way. Its story—the narrative—is that it's an alien choosing worthy warriors to save before the world ends. But that's not real."

Well, the world would actually be ending soon, but this thing was just pretending to know about it.

"Narrative?" she repeated, clearly confused.

I checked the time. I'd already spent nearly two minutes explaining. I only had about three left before I had to leave.

"All Cursed Spirits follow a narrative. This one's story is that it's testing humans to find worthy warriors to take away before Earth's destruction.

"It summons people for a death game.

"Those who fail get sent home.

"You can't kill yourself here either, so if you want to escape, you'll need someone else to kill you," I explained quickly.

Carlotta frowned. "That's… kind of a friendly Cursed Spirit, then. It doesn't harm anyone."

"No Cursed Spirit is friendly," I said.

"How is this one bad? It seems safe enough. I mean, sure, we might get some trauma from being forced to fight, but no one really dies, right?"

I nodded slightly. I understood why she thought that.

"The Cursed Spirit is called [Arena of Elicoras]," I explained. "It summons a hundred humans every twelve hours and makes them fight to the death.

"Losers are sent back home.

"The winner has to find something called the [Victory Platform], which is hidden deep in the jungle.

"But once only one person is left, a creature called the [Elicoras Warrior] appears to hunt them down."

Carlotta crouched and studied the drawings as I spoke.

"If the last person can't find the Victory Platform before twelve hours are up, then ninety-nine new humans get summoned, and the [Elicoras Warrior] will disappear.

"The battles would start again. When one human is left, the [Elicoras Warrior] will return. It will keep going on and on."

"So it never ends?" she asked.

"Exactly. Even if someone wins and reaches the platform, the cycle resets. The next group of a hundred gets summoned again."

"What happens to the winner? If these people are not alien, where do they take the winner to?" she asked without looking up.

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